GERARDO da PRATO. - Franciscan of the 13th century. Of a distinguished family, brother of fra' Arlotto da Prato, who later became minister general of the Friars Minor, in 1246 he studied at Pisa with Salimbene da Parma (v.), and completed his studies at Toulouse after 1248.
He was a lector in the Franciscan Order. In 1264 he was sent by Urbano IV to Constantinople with an embassy to the emperor Michele Paleologo. In 1278 Niccolò IV entrusted him with a double legation, to Abagham, king of the eastern Tartars (1 Apr.), and to the Great Khan of the Tartars (4 Apr.). In 1282-83, in a document against Pietro di Giovanni Olivi, he is found as associate of the minister general fra' Bonagrazia da Bologna. He composed a notable Brevilognium super libros sententiarum, published by p. Marcellino da Civezza in 1882.